Many students are unaware of how the properties of soil can be of assistance in a criminal investigation. In this activity students will examine a variety of properties of soil. Again this is a lab that requires the context of an investigation. For example, properties of a certain type of soil like the pH or capillary action can place the suspect in a certain geographical place. In this activity students will have the opportunity to make a shoe print mold, examine soil under a microscope, determine the water holding capacity of soil, determine the soil's pH and assess the capillary action of soil.
Students will be required to bring a sample of soil from home for this activity.
An information sheet summarizing soil characteristics is also included for students reference
Part 1 - Making a Mold
The students make a mold with a large portion of the soil they brought from home. This part of the activity is done first so that the mold can set while the other parts of the lab are completed.
Part 2, 3, 4 and 5
All four activities require the students to examine known types of soil and then compare those findings to their unknown soil sample. It is recommended to have samples of sand, clay and humus on hand for the students to examine. The students will also need two or three known samples of soil. These samples should have a know percentage of sand, clay and humus. For example, one soil may have a third of each while another soil may be fifty percent sand, twenty percent clay and thirty percent humus.
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